Abortion in ewes in Nineveh governorate, Iraq: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Alameen, E. K. and Dahl, M. O.

Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences (2022) 36: 681–688

DOI: 10.33899/ijvs.2021.131343.1942

Abstract

The current study was designed to examine the evidence and knowledge gaps in studies investigating abortion in ewes in Nineveh, Iraq, and quantify the overall incidence of abortion and the prevalence of potential infectious etiology of abortion. PubMed, CABI, and GoogleScholar databases were used as search engines to track pertinent peer-reviewed studies. Additional relevant articles were identified by reviewing the reference lists of identified full-text articles and contacting colleagues who worked on pertinent topics. Identified studies were divided into two main groups, including studies that reported the abortion rate in ewes and studies that reported the potential infectious etiology of abortion. A meta-analysis was performed for each group.A total of 17 studies were qualified for review, including six studies that reported the abortion rate. All of the 17 studies examined the prevalence of potential etiology of abortion. The overall incidence of abortion was 7.32%, and the pooled prevalence of potential infectious etiology of abortion indicated that 51.43%, 31.92%, and 6.83% were for Toxoplasma gondii, Brucella spp., and other pathogens, respectively. In conclusion, it is essential to identify epicenters of abortion in Nineveh, the association between the incidence of abortion and parity, the effect of pregnancy season on the incidence of abortion, and confirm the prevalence of T. gondii in aborted ewes is high.

Citation

Alameen, E. K., & Dahl, M. O. (2022). Abortion in ewes in Nineveh governorate, Iraq: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 36(3), 681–688. https://doi.org/10.33899/ijvs.2021.131343.1942 meta-analysis, systematic reviews, disease prevalence, epidemiology, epidemiological surveys, infections, parasites, parasitoses, protozoal infections, risk factors, diagnosis, disease surveys, bacterial diseases, ewes, aetiology, pathogens, toxoplasmosis, brucellosis, seasonal variation, seasonality, abortion, parity

Keywords

• meta-analysis
• systematic reviews
• disease prevalence
• epidemiology
• epidemiological surveys
• infections
• parasites
• parasitoses
• protozoal infections
• risk factors
• diagnosis
• disease surveys
• bacterial diseases
• ewes
• aetiology
• pathogens
• toxoplasmosis
• brucellosis
• seasonal variation
• seasonality
• abortion
• parity